Other than the custom shop guns, I have never seen a claim that the CZ guns are "made in the USA" every "standard" CZ I've sever seen has said "Made in Czech Republic".
I didn't mean to suggest they should be labelled or should be claimed to be "Made in the USA." I was just trying to state the facts about how they are assembled and some parts are made here.
I was trying to make another point, really, that nowadays, just about every product has some percentage of parts or assembly that was done outside the USA. And, I was suggesting that perhaps another way to measure "American Made" is by the ownership....not the only way.
Here is an interesting link:
Guns Made in the USA
A number of companies claim to be in the "American Made" category, including Kahr, Colt, etc. But truth is many guns and gun parts are made overseas and it is often hard to identify them. Smith&Wesson is no different....they don't disclose the percentage of parts made outside the US.
Here are some examples:
FN Herstal is Belguim owned company and a supplier to the US Military. They manufacture some firearms in S. Carolina, but their pistols are marked Fredericksburg, VA, leading you to believe they are Made in America. Depending on the gun, many parts are made overseas and imported to the US for final assembly, so the gun is not truly 100% Made in America. Some guns are made to spec for the military and those are all made here. So, do we make a decision to buy FN Herstal based on the "Made in America" impression or on all the factors associated with the company? I personally think that if a gun company assembles the guns here and employs more than a handful of Americans for "manufacturing", that is enough for me to call them "American made."
Here is an opposing example: Bersa does not manufacture or assemble any guns here in the US. They are imported fully-assembled and ready for distribution and sale. No one could claim they are American made in any way.
Glock has manufacturing in Austria and the USA, importing some parts, manufacturing others, and assembling many models here in the US. However, it is still Austrian-managed, but clearly has a close relationship with the US Military and Law Enforcement and manufactures here in the US. Do they deserve to be labelled, "Made in America?" Personally, I think they have enough of a presence and manufacturing to say they are.
Also, let's not forget that Smith&Wesson embraced many of the Clinton-era gun control initiatives which really upset the 2nd Amendment community. Does that count against them in the overall equation?
My main point here is that we should be looking at the whole picture when making purchasing decisions about anything, inlcluding firearms, and recognize there are unavoidable international enconomies at work here.
The US Gov't says that at least 50% of the parts in a product must be American made in order to be purchased by the US gov't. However, the FTC has the following statement: "According to the Federal Trade Commission, "Made in USA" means that "all or virtually all" the product was, indeed, made in America. The agency enforces the standard to ensure commercial compliance and confirm consumer confidence. For a "Made in USA" claim to be accurate, all significant parts, processing and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. Products should not contain any - or only negligible - foreign content. "
So there is a pretty good chance that most of the parts in a S&W handgun are Made in the USA, but that doesn't mean that other companies, even if foreign headquartered, aren't just as patriotic a purchase decision as S&W.
CC